Health Ministry filing complaint against dealing in illegal hair straighteners

Health Ministry: “The contents of these products are not known, and some of them contain formaldehyde, which is dangerous to public health.”

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Unlicensed hair straightener products (photo credit: HEALTH MINISTRY)
Unlicensed hair straightener products
(photo credit: HEALTH MINISTRY)
The Health Ministry issued a statement that cosmetics without a ministry license should not be used,
following Channel 10 TV’s Kolbotek warnings on Monday about the cancer danger from using hair straightener chemicals containing formaldehyde.
The ministry added in its message to the public and to hair salon workers that it will file a complaint against the importers, manufacturers and retailers of such products, which are widely used. The ministry said it would act “with all possible means” against those involved.
“The contents of these products are not known, and some of them contain formaldehyde, which is dangerous to public health,” said the ministry, which supplied photos of some of the illegal cosmetics.
Kolbotek presenter and editor Rafi Ginat showed lab results that the products contain several times more formaldehyde than allowed. He said that ordinary cloth or synthetic masks worn by customers and hair styles to straighten hair are useless, because the tiny molecules of formaldehyde enter the pores of the face covers. “They give a false sense of security,” Ginat said.